Telltale Season 2 Episode 1 Reviews

by Brian HuntingtonDecember 17th, 2013

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Reviews have been pouring in for Telltale’s The Walking Dead Season 2, Episode 1, and with just the beginning of this story arc unfolding, the feedback is already insanely positive. We’re super proud of our friends at Telltale, who have been working their asses off to get this game into your hands by Christmas. Good job, boys!

If you’re still on the fence about getting this game, let me shove you off and firmly into “buy” territory:

Nerdist
“Telltale’s phenomenal Fables-inspired The Wolf Among Us was my methadone, but nothing compares to the sweet rush of plunging back into the bleak, dangerous apocalyptica of The Walking Dead, and, to stick with this forced metaphor, Season Two is the Blue Sky of adventure games and a worthy successor”

“While Clementine’s future may seem unclear – and that has been a point of derision for some – I would argue that the lack of clarity is exactly the point All That Remains is trying to make. Clementine is no longer under Lee’s protective aegis; she is on her own in a bold, new world and it is up to us, as the player, to help determine what kind of woman she’ll become in Lee’s absence. It’s difficult to judge “All That Remains” without considering that it’s part of a whole, but for my money, it’s a home run. Lightning, meet bottle — again.”

GameTrailers – 9/10 Editor’s Choice
“The first episode of The Walking Dead’s second season may only last an hour and a half, but it doesn’t waste a single minute. Within one scene, Telltale will make you feel scared, hopeful, shocked, and repulsed, only to have the next several scenes do the exact same thing.”

IGN – 8/10
“Not enough games are willing to pose provocative, contemplative questions like this, and it remains what makes The Walking Dead special.”

“As a character study, “All That Remains” is an exceptional exploration of a young woman’s struggle to stay strong in unforgiving circumstances. I’m more invested in Clementine now than I’ve ever been, and I admire her believable independence and resolve.”

Kotaku
“In this moment I knew Clementine had changed, that everything she’d experienced since the world changed had changed her, too. She’s a survivor, through and through. Trivial things like toys don’t concern her.P It’s this kind of storytelling that Telltale excels in. A single look can convey fear, distrust, hate, regret. These are all things Clementine will witness in the faces of the people she meets in Season Two. They’re all contextualized in a way that helps you understand, without uttering a word, exactly what’s going on. Instead of passively hearing it, you feel it in your gut.”

“Playing as Clementine was the perfect and natural next direction for The Walking Dead. She’s a character we have investment in from the first season, but we get to see her in a new light. And her experiences throughout surviving are so unique to her position that we get to see a new side of the monstrous things we saw in Season One.”

Destructoid 8/10
“To be blunt, Clem has seen some shit, and she’s a little different than she used to be. She still has that same believability, innocence, and likability as always, but because she’s learned a lot of survival tactics from Lee, Clem’s a little more hardened from before.”

“Telltale also somehow manages to handle dogs correctly in a videogame (eat your heart out Molyneux), which isn’t done very often.”

“The Walking Dead: All That Remains surprised me, although when I saw the initial reveal of Clementine’s return I had little doubt that Telltale would deliver in some form. They still even know how to sell a “next episode” preview, as a casual “I thought you were dead!” line is delivered by Clementine upon a mysterious off-screen figure. Yep, I can’t wait for the next episode.”

Machinima 9/10
“Immediately after completing season 1’s “No Time Left,” and after wiping away the tears, I was desperate for answers: I needed to know that Clementine was safe—all thanks to Telltale Games’ great storytelling prowess at making captivating characters. Season 2 seems to be going in the same direction, in a more brutally direct way. There’s so much more I want to talk about, but that would spoil the experience that awaits you.”

Joystiq 9/10
“The Walking Dead isn’t a roller coaster of emotions; it’s a seesaw. On one end sits the golden halo of the human spirit, strengthened by trust, dignity and love. On the other end slumps the shadow of death, mutilation and irrational violence. The kind of emotions that make someone lock an injured, ailing little girl in a shed in the middle of a storm, offset by the compulsion to give her a decent meal and tuck her into bed. Perched in the middle of this seesaw is Clementine.

She is the balance, representing everything worth fighting for, worth decapitating for. Worth dying for. Clementine is the humanity in all of us”

Mashable
“It’s more like a high-stakes drama than ever before, and there was no moment that took me away from the fear of something — human or zombie — coming around a corner.”

Newsarama 10/10
“Let’s make this as simple and clear as possible: The Walking Dead Season 2 is a must-play game. Telltale has shown an expertise above and beyond anything they’ve done before, and Clementine is the most interesting playable character in a video game this year, if not beyond.”

The Verge
“…putting you in control of Clementine has turned “All That Remains” into perhaps the most intense episode yet, with horrible decisions to make and some truly gruesome scenes. The gameplay formula hasn’t changed at all, but the emotional stakes only continue to rise.”

Game Informer 8.5/10
“Once again, Telltale refuses to pull any punches; the violence isn’t softened just because Clementine is a child. I cringed more times than I was expecting during this ­episode due to some of the brutality, but that’s exactly what an episode of The Walking Dead should make you do.”

Escapist 9/10
“Season One was like tossing your soul into a thresher. If All That Remains is anything to go by, this second season will burn the very heart of you.”

EGM 8/10
“… their Walking Dead series continues to be a narrative powerhouse.”

“Even though there’s only an hour and a half of content here, there were several instances that I had to pause the game, walk away, get a drink, and then come back. I simply couldn’t power through and ignore the events of this episode, and I found myself frantically worrying about Clem now—just as much as when I was protecting her as Lee”

Eurogamer 8/10
“A more accurate one would be Pulling No Punches, because if it’s about anything, it’s Telltale proving it’s absolutely not afraid to hit a little girl. Emotionally. Physically. Repeatedly.”

GamesRadar
“Should you get it? Absolutely. All That Remains is a fantastic introduction to the second season, and it does a great job of proving how playing as Clementine can lead to unique situations.”